Presser feet as well as replaceable presser foot bases of a special design are used for preparing pipings; they have, in general, three guide grooves arranged at closely spaced locations from one another on the underside of the base, wherein the middle guide groove extends centrally to the needle passage opening of the presser foot base.
When pipings extending in parallel at a short distance from one another are prepared, the piping sewn before is guided in one of the two outer guide grooves. It has been known that an adjustable guide rule, to be arranged on the presser foot shaft, can be used to prepare pipings located at a great mutual distance from one another.
If an ornamental seam, to be formed, e.g., by using the zigzag sewing unit of the sewing machine, is to be formed in a subsequent operation between two or more pipings located at a relatively great distance from one another, the piping foot, which is unsuitable for other sewing operations, must first be replaced, together with the guide rule, with an appropriate foot for the ornamental seams.